Tag Archives: kenton koch

Tag Archives: kenton koch

Glendora native Kenton Koch and pal Gumby were all smiles atop the podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on May 3, 2014. Koch, racing his Gumby Fest custom ALARA Mazda MX-5, celebrated a first place finish at his home track.

“This weekend was a great weekend for Gumby! A win and a second place was just what we asked for,” said Koch.

In addition to his Gumby racing car, Koch sported a custom Gumby Fest Mazda Motorsports Sparco racesuit and helmet, which he donated to the Glendora Library to be auctioned off in support of the library. This partnership grew out of Koch’s desire to give back to his hometown. He found creative ways to get involved by promoting Gendora’s inaugural Gumby Fest, June 14, which honored the city’s connection to Gumby.

“A special thanks to L & G Enterprises for painting such a beautiful helmet. To whoever gets this piece of art, take care of it!” Koch remarked about the Gumby helmet.

Kenton made appearances before and during Gumby Fest for photos ops with Gumby, Koch’s custom racecar, suit and helmet.The first-ever Gumby Fest honored Glendora’s connection to Gumby—the city was home to Gumby’s studios (Clokey Productions) in the 1960s and 1970s. Thousands turned out for the festivities, which included presentations by current and past Clokey Productions crew, film screenings, stop motion animation demonstrations, a “Gumby Museum” filled with memorabilia, food, music, and a wide array of games and activities for the kids.The planning team is looking forward to the second annual Gumby Fest in the summer of 2015.

Glendora Racer Kenton Koch Promotes Inaugural Gumby Fest at 125 mph

April, 2014 (GLENDORA, Calif) Race drivers come in all shapes and sizes. Glendora native Kenton Koch is tall and lean, just like another famous Glendora native—Gumby. On May 1-3, Kenton will be taking Gumby for a high-speed ride in his ALARA Racing Mazda MX-5 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. This community partnership is to promote the June 14th Gumby Fest in Glendora, and help raise money for the Glendora Library.

Kenton Koch's Gumby race car

Kenton will be donating his custom Gumby Fest Mazda Motorsports Sparco racesuit and helmet to the Glendora Library to be auctioned off in support of the library.

Kenton Koch: “Being a native Glendora resident, I jumped at the chance to support this great community event. My plan is to take both Gumby and Pokey to the winners circle in Monterey.”

Joe Cina, Executive Director, Glendora Chamber of Commerce: “The inaugural Gumby Fest is all about fun for the family. It’s wonderful to have young community leaders like Kenton Koch step forward in creative ways to help out. This will be a great photo op for kids of all ages.”

Joe Clokey, Clokey Productions/Premavision: “Gumby is about adventure, and racing is certainly an adventure. It’s great to have a Glendora native carrying Gumby and Pokey at the racetrack.”

About Gumby and Gumby Fest

Memories of Gumby make everyone smile. What most people don’t know is that Gumby is alive and doing well, and we’re here to help promote and educate everyone on the history of Gumby as well as the magic Gumby will create for future generations. Welcome to Gumby Fest Glendora. Many are not aware Glendora, California, is Gumby’s hometown. Gumby was created in the mind of Art Clokey after he graduated from USC in the early 1950s. In 1953, Art produced the first clay animation music video called “Gumbasia,” which led to the Gumby series. Based on a suggestion by Art’s wife Ruth, Gumby’s shape was inspired by a gingerbread man. Clokey’s first commercial production of Gumby was an episode for the hugely popular “The Howdy Doody Show.” Gumby then earned his own spin-off in 1957 on NBC that resulted in 233 episodes. In 1960, the couple opened Clokey Productions on Fleetwood Avenue in Glendora. For the next 18 years, Gumby and the stop-motion animated children’s Christian television series, “Davey & Goliath” were produced quietly in an unassuming industrial building in south Glendora. Since Gumby lived in Glendora during his formative years from when he was 7 until 25, we humbly claim that Glendora is Gumby’s Hometown. In honor of Glendora’s connection to Gumby, Glendora will host the first ever Gumby Fest on June 14, 2014, with film screenings, demonstrations, memorabilia, historical displays and plenty of games, contests and activities for the kids.

About Kenton Koch Racing

19-year old Kenton Koch has been racing for over a decade, starting out in karts at age eight. The Glendora native balanced his school work with racing as he moved up to racing with the Skip Barber Racing School where he won 30 races over three years. Kenton won the 2013 Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge to earn a place in the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy. Kenton kicked off the 2014 season with a win and a second place in the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich. When not at the racetrack, Kenton is a full-time student at Cal State Fullerton where he is majoring in Mechanical Engineering.